NO. 1: COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

NO. 1 ALABAMA vs. NO. 2 CLEMSON

Jalen Hurts certainly didn’t hurt the Crimson Tide in their season-opening win against USC in early September. Three drives into the game at Arlington, Texas coming in to replace redshirt freshman Blane Barnett, the 18-year-old Hurts was 6-of-11 passing for 118 yards and a couple of touchdowns and also ran for two scores in the 52-6 victory.

Barnett, the former No. 1 high school QB recruit out of Santiago High in Corona, left the team five games into the season (ending up at Arizona State) when it was apparent he lost his job. Hurts, 227 of 351 passing for 2,649 yards and 22 touchdowns against nine interceptions, plus 891 yards rushing in 181 carries for 12 TDs, earned the spot. And as it stands now for the 14-0 Tide, Hurts can become only the second true freshman QB to lead his team to a national title. The last time it happened was in 1985 with Oklahoma’s Jamelle Holieway, fresh off the campus of Banning High in Wilmington. But Holieway had some time to adjust. He ran Barry Switzer’s Wishbone only after sophomore starter Troy Aikman broke his leg in Week 4 during a loss against Miami (yes, Aikman then transferred to UCLA when it was apparent that Holieway had the job, capped off by a 15-point win over No. 1 Penn State in the Orange Bowl).

We’ll have to see there are any hurt feels with Hurts about the departure of offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin, who recruited Hurts out of Channelview, Texas. Instead, another ex-USC head coach, Steve Sarkisian, will be sending in the signals.

In some ways, Hurts has been compared to Clemson quarterback DeShaun Watson, twice a Heisman runner-up and coming into the last game of his junior season with 4,173 passing yards, 38 TDs and 17 interceptions while running for 586 yards (about half of last season) and eight TDs.

Last year, No. 2 Alabama, with Heisman-winning running back Derrick Henry and Jake Coker calling signals, won the national title by outlasting Watson and No. 1 Clemson, 45-40, in Glendale, Arizona. Watson, we presume, has a sense of urgency to make sure the Tigers win this time from the No. 2-ranked spot instead.

NO. 2: NBA: LAKERS at CLIPPERS

The Clippers had won the last 11 in a row over the Lakers going back to the 2013-14 season but were missing Blake Griffin and Chris Paul when they blew an 18-point halftime lead on Christmas Day and dropped a 111-102 decision to their Staples Center co-tenants. J.J. Redick also sat out the fourth quarter with a sore hamstring after scoring 22 points. The Lakers won that one by outscoring the Clippers, 34-16, in the third quarter. Griffin is a few weeks away from returning from a knee issue, but can target two more regular-season meeting with the Lakers – March 21 and April 1.

Also this week for the Lakers: At Staples Center vs. Portland (Tuesday, 7:30 p.m., SSN) and vs. Detroit (Sunday, 6:30 p.m., SSN) and at San Antonio (Thursday, 5:30 p.m., SSN)

Also this week for the Clippers: At Staples Center vs. Orlando (Wednesday, 7:30 p.m., Prime Ticket).

NO. 3: NFL PLAYOFFS: DIVISIONAL ROUND

NFC: SEATTLE at ATLANTA

Details/TV: Saturday, 1:30 p.m., Ch. 11

AFC: HOUSTON at NEW ENGLAND

Details/TV: Saturday, 5:15 p.m., Ch. 2

AFC: PITTSBURGH at KANSAS CITY

Details/TV: Sunday, 10 a.m., Ch. 4

NFC: GREEN BAY at DALLAS

Details/TV: Sunday, 1:40 p.m., Ch. 11

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady launched his first Instagram profile and then posted a photo of himself standing in the snow in just a T-shirt and jeans. “You can take the boy out of California … and I think they took the California out of the boy!” he wrote. So this is the most productive way to wait out a bye week. The Patriots have had a bye for six straight years, including this one. “I think just some weeks it’s about prioritization,” said Brady after a recent practice. “As a player you just have to try to be smart. You obviously want to practice because you want to be prepared to play, but sometimes if you overdo it, you’re not feeling as good as you want to on Sunday when you are playing. I think after 17 years I’ve got a pretty good balance for those things. I’m the type of person who likes to practice a lot. I’ve also been around long enough to know you’ve got to be smart, too, so it’s just trying to find that right balance.” The Pats, Falcons, Chiefs and Cowboys get a pass into this round, but no guarantees. In the current eight-division format since 2002, which spits out 12 playoff teams, those who played in wild-card games made the Super Bowl eight times: Carolina in 2003, Pittsburgh in ’05, Indianapolis in ’06, the Giants in ’07 and ’11, Arizona in ’08, Green Bay in ’10 and Baltimore in ’12. Six of them went on to win the championship.

NO. 4: NHL: KINGS vs. DALLAS

Details/TV: At Staples Center, Monday, 7:30 p.m., FSW

Three teams bunched up in the middle of the Western Conference’s Central Division file through Staples Center on this week’s calendar, with Dallas supplying the Star power followed by St. Louis (Thursday, 7:30 p.m., FSW) and Winnipeg (Saturday, 7 p.m., FSW). The Stars handed the Kings a 3-2 overtime loss on Dec. 23 when rookie Esa Lindell scored past goalie Jeff Zatkoff – just the Kings’ first OT loss of the season.

Also this week for the Ducks: At Honda Center vs. Dallas (Tuesday at 7 p.m., Prime Ticket) and vs. St. Louis (Sunday at 6 p.m., Prime Ticket), plus road games at Colorado (Thursday at 6 p.m., Prime Ticket) and at Arizona (Saturday at 5 p.m., Prime Ticket)

NO. 5: COLLEGE BASKETBALL

UCLA at COLORADO

Details/TV: Thursday, 8 p.m., FS1

UCLA at UTAH

Details/TV: Saturday, 3 p.m., Pac-12 Network

The Utes (11-4, 2-1) and Buffaloes (10-6, 0-3) rank 10th and 11th in the Pac-12 in three-point shooting percentage – 32.9 and 32.8 respectively. The No. 4 Bruins (16-1, 3-1) are third in the country at 42.2 percent.

NO. 6: COLLEGE BASKETBALL:

USC at UTAH

Details/TV: Thursday, 6 p.m., Pac-12 Network

USC at COLORADO

Details/TV: Sunday, 5:30 p.m., ESPNU

The No. 25 Trojans (15-2, 2-2) lost to the Utes twice last season, including the second-round of the Pac-12 Tournament, because they couldn’t handle the size issue. Forward Kyle Kuzma, the 6-foot-9, 221-pounder, had 23 points in the win over the Trojans in the tournament, and he’s coming off a game where he scored a career-best 26 points in a six-point win at Arizona State, almost twice his season average.

NO. 7: COLLEGE BASKETBALL:

CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE at LONG BEACH STATE

Details/TV: At the Pyramid, Wednesday, 7:30 p.m.

The Matadors (6-9, 2-0 Big West), averaging a league-best 78.9 points a game while averaging a league-low 13.2 3-pointers a contest, have won three in a row and had three different players as the leading scorer in each of them. The 49ers (6-12, 1-1 Big West) are unbeaten in five home games so far and lead the conference in steals.

Also this week for CSUN: vs. UC Davis at the Matadome, Saturday at 7:30 p.m., ESPNU

Also this week for Long Beach State: at Hawaii, Saturday at 9 p.m.

NO. 8: COLLEGE BASKETBALL

LOYOLA MARYMOUNT at GONZAGA

Details/TV: Thursday, 6 p.m., ESPN3

Only two unbeaten Division I teams are left, and one of them doesn’t even lead the West Coast Conference. The No. 5 Zags (15-0, 3-0) mathematically trail No. 19 St. Mary’s (14-1, 4-0), but those two face off Saturday (7 p.m., ESPN2). Before that, the Lions (8-7, 1-3) get a chance to mess things up. Could this be a trap?

NO. 9: TENNIS: 105th AUSTRALIAN OPEN

Details/TV: Opening rounds, Sunday, 4 p.m., ESPN2

They are 19 hours ahead in Melbourne, and it’s the middle of summer, so the event starting Monday at Rod Laver Stadium isn’t anything like the chilliness most of us will feel on this Sunday afternoon. The first Grand Slam event of the year finishes up on Jan. 29. Five-time men’s Aussie Open champ Novak Djokovic returns to defend his title, as does women’s champion Angelique Kerber, who upset Serena Williams in last year’s final. Williams, who recently lost to Madison Brengel at the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand, still is seeking her 23rd major and a seventh at Australia.

NO. 10: GOLF: PGA TOUR SONY OPEN

Details/TV: At Waialae Country Club in Honolulu, Thursday-Sunday, Golf Channel (final round, Sunday at 3 p.m.)

One more in Hawaii before the tour heads to the mainland – mainly, Palm Springs.

Tom Hoffarth is a freelancer. He had been with the Daily News/Southern California News Group since 1992 as a general assignment sports reporter, columnist and specialist in the sports media. He has been honored by the Associated Press for sports columnists and honored by the Southern California Sports Broadcasters Association for his career work. His favorite sportscaster of all time: Vin Scully, for professional and personal reasons. He considers watching Zenyatta win the Breeders' Cup 2009 Classic to be the most memorable sporting event he has covered in his career. Go figure that.

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